


in a silver garden with you

by wyrmbloods



Series: wolmeric week 2021. [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Gardens & Gardening, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:29:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29856744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyrmbloods/pseuds/wyrmbloods
Summary: artorius hopes to bring a little bit of joy to the otherwise lonely borel manor while aymeric is away and gets caught mid surprise.
Relationships: Aymeric de Borel/Warrior of Light
Series: wolmeric week 2021. [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2190189
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	in a silver garden with you

**Author's Note:**

> for wolmeric week day four - flowers! i followed the prompt this time, what a shocker

_ “You want to spruce up the manor?” Artorius is not wont to spend time there unless Aymeric is nearby, so the request strikes him as odd.  _

_ “Just a little! Nothing too serious, just something nice for you to come back to after your Alliance meeting in Limsa.” Artorius smiles, reassuringly. “I promise you’ll love it. Maybe it’ll motivate you to visit your own home every once in a while.” _

_ “Alright, alright. You do realize you needn’t ask me permission to improve somewhere that is your own home, correct?” _

_ “I thought it would be something for you to look forward to, if nothing else.” _

* * *

Repairs in the Congregation mean a blissfully short day of work for Aymeric, which just so happens to line up with a rare, warm and sunny day in the Pillars; if he hurries back home, he may be able to change and enjoy just a little bit of sun before it is reclaimed by the clouds and snow. 

His steward is surprised to see him, but greets him warmly all the same as he runs to change out of his armor and into something with shorter sleeves when he is distracted by movement in the backyard. He peeks out the window, seeing a hunched over Artorius in coveralls digging. 

Was this what he meant when he said he wanted to spruce up?

The younger elezen doesn’t want to interrupt, so he changes quietly whilst watching the man work through the window. Artorius switches between planting half grown plants and bulbs Aymeric isn’t familiar with, and trimming the overgrown trees and bushes that have fell into disrepair since his parents’ deaths. It warms his heart, to see someone care for the garden after so long...Fury knows he’s avoided the house like the plague whenever he could, often spending more time at Fortemps Manor for meals in the months immediately after their passing. 

(Such a well deserved reputation for overworking himself has its perks, sometimes.)

Aymeric sneaks into his own garden, still watching silently. The proximity brings another gift: Artorius is singing while he works, and his lover cannot recall the last time the man looked so at ease outside of his company. He sits on the ground in a sunny spot, unable to bring himself to interrupt the sight before him. Despite the sunny skies since the break of morning, it's done little for making the ground any less frigid, and he shudders as his legs make contact with cold stone. 

It doesn’t last, however, as the older elezen turns around and sees Aymeric watching him and shakes his head. 

“This is a terrible habit you’ve developed, you know that?” Artorius pulls off one of his gardening gloves and throws it at the other man’s face. “I’m not a painting, you needn’t stare at me like that.” 

“You are as beautiful as one, darling.” The redhead groans. “And I did not want to interrupt you, ‘tis rare to see you at peace without me around.” 

“Well, now the surprise is ruined.” Artorius strides over, sitting half next to and half in Aymeric’s lap. “The one and only time you get off work early, and it’s when I was plotting. Tragic.”

“The fact that you went to the trouble is surprise enough for me.” The raven haired man nuzzles the top of the other’s head with a smile. “I admit I have not tended to the manor much since I became the master of it…” More by choice than duty getting in the way, but he is loath to admit such things. 

“It must feel empty, with your family gone.”

“Less so these days, when yourself and Estinien deign to stay the night.” A smirk. “Or I’m unchained from my bloody desk.” 

“You should take a vacation. Somewhere warm, with _all of us_.”

“I would love that, but for now I’ll just have to enjoy the sun when it decides to bless Ishgard.” Aymeric sighs. “I’m not sure if the things you’ve planted will last the usual cold, though.”

“I did my research, worry not.” The older man smiles. “Everything I’m planting should thrive and survive the cold, lest Saint Shiva come back and personally see to dropping  _ Diamond Dust  _ on your backyard. Irises, lily of the valley, crocuses and peonies...all white and blue, just for you.” He smiles, satisfied with his choices. 

“You mean  _ us.  _ ‘Tis our home.”

“Yes, yes…” Oh, how he likes it when Aymeric says things like that.  _ Our  _ home. “Well, then why don’t you help me with  _ our  _ yard work, then? Maybe you’ll bother tending to it while I am away if you know the plants better.” 

It is a fun thing, getting his hands dirty and with purpose; Aymeric can recall few times he was allowed to play in the dirt as a child, much less touch anything in the gardens. That was for the people the Borels paid, not for noble little boys’ hands to touch. Artorius is patient as he explains how to properly transfer the half grown plants from pots and into the ground, how some need their roots jostled so they’re not crushed, or how deep some seeds and bulbs need to go. 

After, it is very mindless, and they talk about family. 

There is not much to say about the Borels that the younger man hasn’t mentioned before; they were kind, treated him like blood and never hesitated to instill only the best of thoughts in his impressionable mind. There’s a sadness in his words that is not missed, regret about not having spent more time with them while he was training to be a knight. It’s cathartic to finally speak about it so casually, with death being such a massive production in Ishgard. 

How he hated wearing the requisite black clothing for months until tradition dictated he bring color back to his wardrobe. 

“You rarely speak of your family, Artorius.”

“Ah, my...parents? My sister?” There’s an inscrutable look on the older man’s face and Aymeric regrets prying instantly. “They...were not nice, unfortunately. Unkind in a lot of ways.”

“Oh, Artorius…I did not mean to bring up bad memories.”

“It is alright.” He sighs. “I haven’t spoken to them since I was a little girl, nor do I plan to see if they’re living or not. My sister on the other hand...I might have to see her again, like it or not.” He touches right cheek, where the thick scar is long healed across it. 

“She lives?”

“Unfortunately. She gave me these scars on my face...before she left for Garlemald when we were fourteen.” That comes as a shock to Aymeric. “I think seeing her on the battlefield would scare me more than any of my encounters with Zenos thus far. Old wounds, all that.” 

“I will have to keep an eye out for her, next I am on the front lines what does she…” Aymeric trails off while asking and the older elezen looks him in the eye, before pointing to his own face with a slightly exasperated expression. “...Twins, right. I knew that.”

Artorius throws a handful of dirt at him in response, laughing. 

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on twitter @lievetels! no funny line this time, also day 5 is a cute little gpose i posted there :)


End file.
